Infanticide and partial cannibalism in free-ranging Coquerel's sifaka (Propithecus coquereli)
| Autor: | Malcolm S. Ramsay, Benjamin Morrison, Samantha M. Stead |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Male Population Propithecus Lemur 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Sifaka biology.animal Agonistic behaviour Madagascar Animals Cannibalism 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology Mortality education education.field_of_study Coquerel's sifaka biology Behavior Animal Indriidae 05 social sciences biology.organism_classification Aggression Animal ecology Animal Science and Zoology Female Demography |
| Zdroj: | Primates; journal of primatology. 61(4) |
| ISSN: | 1610-7365 |
| Popis: | Infanticide has been observed across many primate taxa, but the extent of its occurrence is not fully understood due to difficulty in observation and uneven reporting. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain why infanticide occurs in primates and whether it benefits some individuals within a social group. Here we report on a case of infanticide, followed by partial consumption of the infant, in a population of Coquerel’s sifaka (Propithecus coquereli) at Mariarano, Northwest Madagascar. We witnessed an adult male sifaka kill and consume part of an infant, a member of his own social group, as well as the mother’s reaction to the infanticide. Following the infanticide, the mother of the deceased infant left the social group after repeated agonistic encounters with the other group members. We evaluate how this event relates to the predictions of four common hypotheses. Further research on Coquerel’s sifaka is needed to determine the frequency of infanticide in this species, and in lemurs more generally, because infanticide is currently poorly understood in this taxon. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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